Portmeirion oil and vinegar bottles

Portmeirion oil and vinegar bottles

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Portmeirion oil and vinegar bottles - 8¾" (222 mm) high.

Susan Williams-Ellis bought Gray's Pottery and Kirkham Pottery in 1960.
Gray's had been decorating blanks made by Kirkham's for sale in the gift shop
at Portmeirion, and later the London showroom owned by Williams-Ellis and
Euan Cooper-Willis.

The Gray's factory was later sold, and Portmeirion Pottery, as it was
now known, continued from the London Road, Stoke, premises that Kirkhams
had occupied since 1946.

A number of cylindrical moulds were left at the Kirkhams plant - they
had been used for making medical and laboratory vessels - and Susan put
them to use for domestic Portmeirion ranges. The most successful design,
Totem, was designed around cylindrical shapes with primitive patterns carved
into the moulds. Introduced in 1963, it originally was made in three colours,
blue, amber and dark green. The Totem wares had a translucent flow glaze
that accentuated the relief pattern. Totem was made in more shapes than
any other Portmeirion design and was astoundingly successful all through
the sixties and into the seventies. The Totem range was one of the most
copied of all designs, and is recognized as typifying the design tastes
of the time.

In recent years the transfer printed Botanic Garden range has been very
successful. Portmeirion pottery has been produced to the present time, and
has found a strong collectors' market.

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